Dow Pushes to New Record High as Disney Buys Most of Fox

The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached a new intraday record high Thursday, Dec. 14, following Walt Disney Co.'s (DIS) deal to buy Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.'s (FOXA) film and TV businesses for $52.4 billion.

The Dow climbed 0.19%, or 46 points, and was on track to close higher for the sixth straight session. The S&P 500 rose 4.3 points and the Nasdaq gained 18.4 points. Leading gainers on the Dow were Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Boeing Co. (BA) .

Wall Street's gains were extended following the Federal Reserve's much-anticipated rate hike and surprisingly dovish outlook for further increases next year on Wednesday and an investors bet on an impending agreement on tax cuts from U.S. lawmakers in Washington.

Retail sales in the U.S. during November rose 0.8%, the Census Bureau said on Thursday, above estimates that called for an increase of 0.3%.

Jobless claims for the week ended Dec. 9, declined 11,000 to 225,000.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (TEVA) was up more than 15% after it unveiled an aggressive restructuring plan that will cut 14,000 jobs.

Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL) was also on the move, jumping 3.5%, after the company announced that it was ordering 100 Airbus A321neo jets, with options of up to 100 additional jets, beginning in 2020.

The euro slipped after the European Central Bank left rates unchanged and maintained its dovish guidance. The DAX in Germany fell 0.04%.

Global oil markets were mixed, owing to the ongoing shutdown of the Forties North Sea pipeline, which is pulling 450,000 barrels of oil from the market each day, and a larger-than-expected 3.3 million barrel decline in U.S. crude stocks reported Wednesday by the Energy Information Administration.

Brent crude futures for February delivery gave back early gains but was still up 0.6% to $62.77 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude contracts for the same month fell 0.12% to $56.53 a barrel.